Daily Archives: April 21, 2011

What is therapeutic substitution? It is the practice whereby the drug prescribed for you is not dispensed as written, or even as the generic of what was specified. Rather, the drug dispensed is a generic for the CLASS of drugs to which the specified drug belongs.

Thus, if your prescription says Crestor®, you could get a generic for Lipitor®. Please note that Crestor and Lipitor are not the same compound, and do not have the same efficacy, although they are both statins. Individual patient reaction—for both the indication and side effects—of these two drugs is often different.

Yet, therapeutic substitution is exactly what Pfizer, the manufacturers of Lipitor, is hoping for. After all, generic Lipitor will be introduced after November 30, 2011, and Pfizer would like nothing better than to drive down the market share of the remaining branded statins. As an added bonus, Pfizer will probably be coming out with its own generic version of Lipitor, as well.

My latest HND piece examines the encroaching phenomenon of therapeutic substitution, and lists a few drugs for which this practice has already been occurring. Bear in mind that the volume usage of those drugs does not even come close to statins. Indeed, Lipitor all by itself is the biggest selling (legal) drug of all time, and it is just one of several statins.

There is considerable pressure to institute therapeutic substitution on a much wider scale. The fear is that if the single biggest class of drugs goes this way, no one will be able to put the therapeutic substitution genie back into the bottle.

But, who cares about patient outcomes if “the system” can save a little money, right?

A compact fluorescent light (CFL) on the ceiling burst and started a fire in a home in Hornell, N.Y. December 23, 2010. “Those are the lights everybody’s been telling us to use,” said Joe Gerych, Steuben County Fire Inspector. “It blew up like a bomb. It spattered all over.” Fire Chief Mike Robbins said the blaze destroyed the room where the fire started and everything in it, and the rest of the house suffered smoke and water damage. The Arkport Village Fire Department as well as the North Hornell Fire Department required about 15 minutes to put out the fire. Link

“Tom and Nancy Heim were watching TV recently, when Tom decided to turn on the floor lamp next to his recliner chair. ‘I heard this loud pop…I saw what I thought was smoke, coming out of the top of the floor lamp,’ says Tom. Nancy suddenly found glass in her lap. She says, ‘I did not see it. I just heard it, and I noticed I had glass on me.’” Link

On February 23, 2011, TV NewsChannel 5 in Tennessee covered “a newly-released investigators’ report that blames a February 12 fatal fire in Gallatin on one of those CFL bulbs.” Ben Rose, an attorney for the rehabilitative facility in which Douglas Johnson, 45, perished, said, “This result is consistent with our own private investigation. …We have heard reports of similar fires being initiated by CFLs across the country.“Link

What the hell went wrong? For months now, environmentalists have been asking themselves that question, and it’s easy to see why. After Barack Obama vaulted into the White House in 2008, it really did look like the United States was, at long last, going to do something about global warming. Scientists were united on the causes and perils of climate change. Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth had stoked public concern. Green groups in D.C. had rallied around a consensus solution—a cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions—and had garnered support from a few major companies like BP and Duke Energy. Both Obama and his opponent, John McCain, were on board. And, so, environmental advocates prepared a frontal assault on Congress. May as well order the victory confetti, right?

Instead, the climate push was … a total flop. By late 2010, the main cap-and-trade bill had fizzled out in the Senate; not a single Republican would agree to vote for it. Greens ended up winning zilch from Congress, not even minor legislation to boost renewable electricity or energy efficiency. Worse, after the 2010 midterms, the House GOP became overrun with climate deniers, while voters turned apathetic about global warming. All those flashy eco-ads and all that tireless eco-lobbying only got us even further from solving climate change than we were in 2008.

So now greens are in the post-mortem stage, and, not shockingly, it’s a sensitive subject. On Tuesday, Matthew Nisbet, a communications professor at American University, released a hefty 84-page report trying to figure out why climate activism flopped so miserably in the past few years. Nisbet’s report is already causing controversy: Among other things, he argues that, contrary to popular belief, greensweren’t badly outspent by industry groups and that media coverage of climate sciencewasn’t really a problem. And he raises questions about whether greens have been backing the wrong policy measures all along. Is he right? Have environmentalists been fundamentally misguided all this while? Or were they just unlucky? (The New Republic)

“The strength of the 2009 recession affected all economic sectors in the EU,” the Denmark-based European Environment Agency said in a report. “Consumption of fossil fuels fell compared to the previous year, mainly for coal.”

Environmental groups and their supporters spend more money on climate-change and clean-energy activities and campaigns than sceptical right-wing groups and their industry supporters, according to a report by a US social scientist, who questions some of the most common reasons given for US political inaction on global warming.

But the report has stirred controversy, with critics claiming that its conclusions are not backed up by the data it presents, and that it ignores studies offering contradictory evidence. (Nature)

Given the financial and economic state we are in, the Government should suspend unilateral climate targets until such time as all other major nations have signed up to the same course. — Nigel Lawson, 12 May 2010.

Environmental campaigners have condemned the coalition’s inclusion of all of Britain’s 278 environmental laws in a list of “red tape” regulations considered by the public for the axe.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act, National Park Act, Clean Air Act and the Climate Change Act are among the packages of environmental safeguards included in the “red tape challenge” – a crowdsourcing exercise launched by the government to establish which regulations restrict business in the UK.

All of the UK’s more than 21,000 pieces of regulation are included on the government’s website for an evaluation. Users are told only the issues of tax and national security are exempted. Participants are assured the “onus” will be on ministers to make the case for keeping a regulation recommended for cutting. (GWPF)

As the world’s factory floor, China is not an obvious environmental leader. It is beleaguered by severe pollution and generates more carbon emissions than any other nation. Yet many have trumpeted it as an emerging “green giant” for its non-carbon-based energy production and its aggressive promises to cut carbon emissions. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman described China’s “green leap forward” as “the most important thing to happen” at the end of the first decade of the 21st century.

But the facts do not support this “green” success story.

China indeed invests more than any other nation in environmentally friendly energy production: $34 billion in 2009, or twice as much as the United States. Almost all of its investment, however, is spent producing green energy for Western nations that pay heavy subsidies for consumers to use solar panels and wind turbines.

China was responsible for half of the world’s production of solar panels in 2010, but only 1 percent was installed there. Just as China produces everything from trinkets to supertankers, it is exporting green technology — which makes it a giant of manufacturing, not of environmental friendliness. (Washington Post)

Cameron worried about Ahnold running amok in the persona of a nearly indestructible robot and yet the only problem turned out to be the Governator’s idiotic anti gorebull warbling legislation… Perhaps Cameron will feel better when he checks out our near-real time global thermometer.

ON APRIL 19th 2011, Skynet went berserk; two days later it began a killing spree and tried to enslave the human race. Such is the setting for one branch of the “Terminator” series, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a stoic robot sent to destroy (or protect, depending on which film) a lad destined to lead mankind to safety.

James Cameron, who dreamt up the series and directed the first two films, reminded the world of the special date on April 19th, when he tweeted: “Skynet was supposed to go operational tonight. Instead of machines taking over, we have the very real threat of global warming.”

The series began in 1984, the year Apple introduced the Macintosh computer. Then, the date of Skynet achieving “self-awareness” was 1997. Later, it was pushed back to 2011, doubtless to make it feel suitably far in the future to be plausible (at least by Hollywood standards), yet sufficiently immediate to excite viewers. (The Economist)

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Crawling culprit seen in urban kids’ asthma Researchers have identified cockroaches as a potential explanation for dramatic variations between neighborhoods in asthma rates among New York City children. In some New York City neighborhoods, 19 percent — nearly 1 in 5 — children have asthma; in others, the rate is as low as 3 percent. […]

Political Payback – Oregon Style Paul Driessen Confused visitors will be forgiven for thinking Oregon State University is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Congressman Pete DeFazio and the “progressive-socialist” wing of the Democratic Party. Or for likening what’s going on there to political retribution as practiced in Third World thugocracies. (Townhall) […]

The European Union’s taxation commissioner plans to propose a new two-part fuel tax, split into a carbon tax of 20 euros per ton of CO2 and a minimum energy tax on motor fuels and heating fuels. (Reuters).

A first-of-its kind study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that stalled energy projects are costing the New York economy $36.2 Billion and More Than 60,000 Jobs. (Progress Denied: A Study on the Potential Economic Impact of Permitting Challenges Facing Proposed Energy Projects).

Thanks to EPA’s new greenhouse gas permitting authority, a proposed Wisconsin biomass plant has come under fire from green activists. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report: It doesn’t make sense to issue a permit for the project because it would add emissions of carbon dioxide at a rate much higher than a natural gas-fueled power […]

Check out this galling interview of William Ruckelshaus, the EPA administrator who banned DDT. While Ruckelshaus is correct in criticizing Members of Congress for essentially being willfully uninformed on environmental issues, his criticism is astonishingly arrogant given his own willful (and genocidal) ignorance of facts. During 1971-1972, the EPA held seve […]

Don’t miss Peabody Energy exec Fred Palmer’s unapologetic interview with The Guardian (UK). Notable quotes include: “We’re 100% coal. More coal. Everywhere. All the time.” “We don’t have a political allegiance. We’re Americans and our political party is coal.” “Anyone who has the notion that we’re going to move away from fossil fuels just isn’t […] […]

Light bulb makers, in the form of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, will be testifying against a repeal of the 2007 federal light bulb law on March 10 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The trade group and its member firms have been making their lobbying rounds on Capitol Hill this week. According […]

Democrat-run Oregon State University is apparently retaliating against climate skeptic and congressional candidate Dr. Art Robinson by taking action without cause against his three graduate student children. Robinson put together the petition against climate alarmism signed by 31,000+ U.S. scientists and unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Peter DeFazio in OR-4 l […]

At the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference today, Sierra Club chief Carl Pope casually mentioned that the Sierra Club sits down with corporations having environmental regulatory problems and then uses its expertise in “changing public policy” to help the corporation solve its problem with the government — a novel role for a non-profit organization that […]

Activists love to talk about the hypothetical far-future “health risks” of a less-cold planet. They are not so keen to discuss the very real harms caused by their hysterical anti-carbon claims here and now. We at JunkScience.com are not so reticent. The immediate trigger for this is an article in the Adelaide Advertiser from South […]

At the annual Rentseekers Ball (aka the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics Conference), Royal Dutch Shell gave attendees room-warming gifts — pedometers, with a note that was headlined “Take the First Step.” If they want us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so much, why do they sell us gasoline?

At today’s House Energy and Power Subcommittee hearing on EPA’s job killing greenhouse gas regulations, Rep. Cory Power (R-CO) asked panel witness Dan Reicher — a longtime anti-nuke campaigner trying to position himself as some sort of “clean energy” expert — what could be done to accelerate the issuance of nuke plant permits. While Reicher […]

New Dehli’s experiment with “clean” natural gas turned out to be not so clean after all. A University of British Columbia study reports that, “A pioneering program by one of the world’s largest cities to switch its vehicle fleet to clean fuel has not significantly improved harmful vehicle emissions in more than 5,000 vehicles – […]

Arizona Public Service is proposing a rate package that includes “decoupling” — i.e.: If approved, that would allow APS to collect a certain amount of revenue per customer regardless of how much energy was sold. Such plans essentially allow a company to earn more money for selling less electricity. Wake up Arizona. Decoupling should be […]

By Steve Milloy March 1, 2011, Investor’s Business Daily It looks as though President Obama may have decided that getting re-elected in 2012 is more important than saving the planet from the much-dreaded global warming. But then how does he break it to the people who helped elect him and whose support he will need […]

The coincidence of: Sen. Sherrod Brown’s letter to Obama about EPA regs; Pew Center chief Eileen Claussen’s “prediction” in today’s Guardian about Obama; and Grist.org’s howling about the Brown letter, may be signs that Obama is preparing his base for the impending news that the EPA will be delaying implementation of its greenhouse gas regulations […] […]

Methemoglobinemia causes blue babies. Scary thought, but I have never seen it in 44 years of practice. Nitrates, found in fertilizer, are one of many causes of methemoglobinemia. Other causes are some drugs, and, for example, aniline dies. But it’s … Continue reading →

Is this getting sick or what? We now receive a report that a British Journal, devoted to medical ethics, publishes an article esposing infanticide–if the baby is disabled but won’t die from its disability and has to be killed. A … Continue reading →

Of course all men want to be virile and healthy, and there is a case for Testoterone, except there are some downside risks. Maybe. Published in Primary Care and 2 other channels Expert Opinion / Commentary · March 30, 2015 … Continue reading →

So there’s a law that allows someone to cash in tax free if he takes a government job, and then work on issues that he should recuse from? Only in the bamster banana republic. This was really bad. http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/03/stunning_admission_from_federal_health_agency_after_initial_denial.html

Hard to get dumber than this one. The “researchers” asked 155 men at a fertility clinic how much fruit and vegetables they ate. Exposure to pesticides was then guesstimated based on USDA reports about pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables. … Continue reading →

So this article below is a Washington Post essay about how to be a good parent. What makes a difference and it appears it is quality of parenting, not quantity. The author misses the point with all the ruminations–parents set … Continue reading →

Well it is true as desribed so many time and to many ways, that jihadis and savage islamists are the cause of the vast majority of violence in the world. But here comes a leftist self hating Jew (am I … Continue reading →

John is an East Coast physicist and he and I became friends at Heartland meetings, he is an energetic physicist and advocate for sensible energy. I have to say that physicists are scary smart, Droz, Hayden, Fulks, Singer, Soon, Spencer. … Continue reading →

Here I am in an oil producing state, but my State Senator, Troy Fraser was bought by wind interests many years ago and sponsored a successful bill to force electricity produces to use wind–a stupid, ugle, inefficient method that increases … Continue reading →

The world market could be affected by the aggressive nature of Iran in the middle east and the disruptions. Marita discusses. Basin Energy Conference. I asked the attendees: “Why should each of you in this room be especially concerned about … Continue reading →

This is actually a well known phenomenon reported below in the Journal of Cardiology. Treated like a surprise? I remember many, many years ago the public outcomes reporting systems caused risk aversive behavior by hospitals and physicians. I saw the … Continue reading →

Captain Bill (USN Ret.) sent me this Blue Angels video with a retro to the Bearcat. Did you know that only the US Navy has a fleet of real aircraft carriers that launch with catapults and are capable of serious … Continue reading →

Scientists have just noticed that green, renewable biofuel competes with food production. From Science World Report, Biofuel Production May be Cutting into Our Food Supply and Raising Prices I’ve seen variants of this over the past few days and suppose … Continue reading →

A Russky (but there are others) predicts another cooling/ice problem. I would leave it at this–warm is good, more warm is gooder. Cold is bad, cooler is still bad. People do not do well with cool, or cold–kills, causes illness, … Continue reading →

I know, that’s like some word sound joke, but it describes him. Twofer time–essays by Roger Simon and Clarice Feldman on the bamster. I think both of them are considering the performance of the man/child/commie now that the Bergdahl delays … Continue reading →

Israel has a very creative population–we knew that, so high tech US Companies are maintaining good ties. I was recently put into the loop with Yoram Ettinger, former Israeli Ambassador. He sent me this report this afternoon. cid:image003.jpg@01CE71D5.502221F0 US-Israel cooperation … Continue reading →